Lab Rat: Shades of Pain
by Shining Zephyr
Summary: A spin-off of AnneriaWings' "Lab Rat." Danny's got to talk to someone about what happened down in the lab... but Sam and Tucker just might not cut it...
1. Part I: Revelations

**So recently, I read a wonderful story by a glorious new authoress and I just—I **_**had**_** to do a spin-off piece of it. Not even kidding. I've been inspired back into semi-old ways, and here's to hoping this darn thing will get finished. Alongside my countless other pieces this author is pushing me to write. Now granted… this may be continued. If a lot of you enjoy this. WHO KNOWS. Alas… please enjoy the spin off piece I created to **AnneriaWings'** famous tale, **Lab Rat.

**I don't own Danny Phantom, and I certainly do not own the lovely plot and tale that is **Lab Rat** by** AnneriaWings.

* * *

Part I: Revelations

My whole body hurt. Mostly my chest and upper torso, to be precise, but still. After you've been tortured, opened, and knocked unconscious by your own parents on a lab table in your basement… your whole frame would hurt too. It would hurt _a lot._

…wait. Let me start back at the beginning.

Around a week or so ago, I was having a normal day of patrolling the city of Amity Park. It's my job to keep the citizens safe from ghosts and other various things that like to haunt the streets, but—you all knew that. I'm also pretty sure you knew that on that same night, my parents finally caught me. As a ghost. They decided to dissect me, see what made my ghost side tick. Everything like that. And they kind of succeeded.

Jazz says my chest was open, blood everywhere. She screamed at them to back away from my body, from my human form. I don't even know what happened in those moments, though. I was unconscious the time after that, and the next thing I knew—I was on the sofa in the living room. Bandaged, in pain and my mind screaming at me that my parents probably hated me. They couldn't accept me as a ghost.

I knew they wouldn't. Even though my dad tried to persuade me they would "fix" me. Most likely, "fixing" me involves more scalpels, more torture; things I can't just deal with on a mental level. I was already unstable enough as it was after the entire ordeal, and his words didn't make me feel any happier inside. The simple fact was, I kind of didn't feel safe around them at all.

Like, _at all._

"Danny?"

I jumped out of my daze and glanced over at the source of the voice. My mom stood there with this worried look all over her face, rubbing her arm and standing in the doorway. I just looked back at her with a pained expression and stood up, almost immediately collapsing backwards onto the sofa. She walked over, trying to approach me, but I stood up once more and shook my head. "I'm fine."

Mom folded her arms and shook her head. "Danny, please. It's time for you to change your—"

"I need to get out of the house," I interrupted her finally, giving her a pointed glare. "I don't want to be cooped up here anymore. I need fresh air. I don't need my bandages changed. They can wait another hour or so."

Before she could say anything else or advance on me any more, I was walking towards the door and opening it to go outside. Before I could take another step, though, she was suddenly at that very door and giving me a look of her own. "You're going to go find Sam and Tucker, aren't you? You're going to tell them what happened."

"The thought crossed my mind, yeah. You have a problem with that?"

She didn't answer. My voice was so frigid, so low now that she thought a ghost probably possessed me. But it hadn't—the fact that she was now trying to intrude on my personal life and my own sanity was enough to make me want to scream at her about all my pain. But I didn't. She didn't say a word to me either. And she didn't have to as I walked out the door slowly and began to long trek to Sam's house.

Her pained gaze was more than enough to tell me that my words hurt her.

* * *

I know I sure as hell don't remember calling her and telling her I was coming over and needed to see her. But that didn't matter as I continued to trudge down the street painfully, hand over my stomach and resting my hand gently on my chest. I could have flown there. I knew I could have. But I was terrified to know what condition my ghost side was in after everything happened. And there was no way I was going to morph in the street and potentially lose my human half to the scars and pain.

My phone rang, and I could see Sam's house just on the corner. All the same, I picked up. "Hey Sam."

"_Danny. Tucker's over here already, and I called him __**after**__ I called you. Are you okay?"_

"I'm fine," I lied through my teeth, gripping the handrail to another house and sighing heavily. "I'll be over there in like… two more minutes, okay?"

I hung up before she could ask any more questions. Explaining things over the phone was worse than doing it in real life.

Quietly, my feet shuffled slowly to her doorstep, and I knocked on it three times. The door opened, and Sam gave me one look before she pulled me inside and slammed the door behind her. Arms wrapped around me tightly, and I cried out in pain, shaking profusely. She let go almost immediately, startled as I nearly fell over once again—this time, almost on top of her. "Dammit," I muttered.

"W-What happened to you?"

I stumbled down into the basement, dragging Sam along and almost tripping right into my other best friend at the bottom of the stairs. He managed to grab me and hold me up by the shoulders, staring at me as well and pushing me back up slightly. Both of them couldn't contain their shock; I only knew this because they were staring at me with these horrified looks on their features. Tucker's voice trembled finally. "D-Dude? What happened? Seriously."

Sam pulled up a chair, and I sat finally—but not without a wince. "A lot."

"We haven't heard from you all week until today, Danny! And…"

"They got me."

I don't think I have ever seen the color drain from someone's face so fast in my existence. Sam could have looked like I had died, and Tucker—well, hell if I knew what was going on in his mind at the moment. What I did know was that they both understood what I was talking about pretty much instantly. My voice shook a little bit as I glanced down at my bandaged chest… well my shirt, but it made no difference. "I didn't think it would ever happen, and it did. My parents caught me as Phantom and tried to dissect me."

No response. Sam sat down slowly, swallowing harshly and shaking her head just so. I knew she was in shock from hearing this. Pained. Angry? "…did they—?"

I nodded. She choked up, glancing at Tucker and searching for anything to say about the matter. He didn't move. All my best friend in the world could do was stare straight ahead at my chest and ask me with only a look to take off my shirt and show the damage that had been done on me. I didn't want to, but I knew he would insist on seeing what had happened. It wasn't out of curiosity. It was out of true fear to wonder what they had done to me.

Without another word, I lifted up my shirt and winced again. It hurt so much to move my upper body now—to a point of where I just wanted…

Sam screamed a moment later, Tucker turning away from the sight. The bandages were bloodied, leaking a bit through the wrap and, now that I saw it, my shirt. It was a horrifying mess to behold, and I grimaced myself.

She choked. _"_Oh my _god…"_

"Danny—that's just…"

I couldn't say anything else. I just sat there, looking down at the floor and chuckling bitterly to myself. "I don't know what to do. My parents say they'll fix me up and make me better again. But I know them." I could feel Sam and Tucker just staring at me with their pained and sympathetic expressions. "They want me dead to study me and my remains. I just—I _feel_ it, y'know?"

Tucker bit his lip, offering no comfort. He was clearly at a loss for words.

Sam spoke up timidly. "W-What will you do?"

"Live a lie. Like I've always done. It won't be any different, will it?" I was surprised at how bitter I sounded. "Change the bandages. Maybe go back to school. I honestly don't have a clue. There's a lot I could do right about now, and well—" I looked lost, shaking my head and leaning back slowly into the chair. "Hell if I know. If I try anything stupid, my parents will probably destroy me in a heartbeat."

They didn't dispute this fact. Actually, they almost looked in agreement at it.

There was a lot that could have happened after last week. After my real brush with death. I didn't want to think about any of it, though. So painful to relive and remember. All I wanted now was sleep and hide from them. Hide with Sam in her basement or hide in the Ghost Zone away from everyone.

Despite talking to them, I still didn't feel better. They didn't understand. I know they wanted to, but I just couldn't bring myself to tell them about my mom holding the scalpel and cutting open my innards.

_"Stop—__**NO**__!"_

_"Jack, help me hold him down!"_

…

_I blearily opened my eyes again to brightness and the sound of voices muttering a string of disjointed words. They spoke from far away, the sounds muffled, as if spoken underwater. Everything was so unfocused and bright; it swam in a sea of confusion and calm. It was almost… peaceful._

_"…still trying to move… you gave him is working, though… hold him down?"_

It hurt knowing what they had done to me. I had to tell someone else. Someone.

But who?

I could only think of one person.

'_He's gonna __**love**__ hearing about this… loads…'_ I thought cynically.

* * *

**Geeeeee, wonder what this means. –sarcasm-**

**ANYWAYS. Hope you enjoyed this, because GOD I loved writing it. Now I will go get more EasyMac because I'm still hungry… and watch Silent Hill 2 things. God, what a scary game… catch y'all later!**


	2. Part II: Affliction

…**I'm absolutely speechless at the response I got for this. Seriously, I didn't know so many people would leap upon this story in a heartbeat. Much less a **_**spin-off**_** to the original. Like, what would happen in my mind and everything. But—enough about that. If my chapters seem short, I'm sorry. Life's picking up again at work, and it means more hours at the Magic Kingdom, less at home. And that might mean shorter, but more intense, chapters.**

**My dearest thanks for reviewing** TuffChick, Catalyst doesn't feel like it, AnneriaWings, Ecokitty, aryaneragon4ever, dragondancer123, JuneLuxray, Phantom-of-Ember, Echoheart, xXxMartelxXx, Pii, JackieDanielStark, Little Juniper, The Flying Taco, Cloudcrossing, Kitty Ghost, Cordria, Nimrod the Writer, Nylah, Shay Durrow

* * *

Part II: Affliction

I probably shouldn't have went home that night, but—I kind of had to. If it was my choice, though, I would have definitely stuck around Sam's more. Being at her place lets me escape this little thing I like to call reality. And, well—reality and I wasn't doing so well as it was. The simple fact of the matter was that I wasn't doing so hot.

Couldn't tell if I was dead or alive and in some sort of godforsaken Hell.

Somehow, I got out of Sam's house and was making it back home at a reasonable pace. But that wasn't saying much considering the wounds made me move slower than a damn snail. Again. Let's not forget the fact that I didn't exactly _want_ to go home… if I could even call it that anymore. God, I didn't know if I wanted to call it a house now, too. It was just this huge apartment that we managed to somehow buy out when I was young and…

Something hit me as I took a deep breath and shuddered, grabbing a railing to the house next to us and gritting my teeth. My thoughts were all over the map—rambling, senseless ideas about my past and the present. Nothing of what would happen in my future. And I'm pretty sure the simple fact was, I didn't really want to think about it. If my parents didn't want me anymore, my sister, my friends…

All the people who knew of Danny Phantom's existence flashed through my head in photographs, and they suddenly stopped on one in particular. I couldn't help but shiver as I pushed myself back up and walked to the steps of my place. No way. He couldn't find out about this. If he did—oh god. I didn't want to think about it, but for some reason, my mind forced me to wonder what would happen if _he_ did.

The next thing I knew, I was sitting on the step at home—but it was like I had fallen back and was almost having a panic attack.

Because I was.

The last thing I ever wanted was for Vlad Masters- or hell, _Plasmius-_ to find out about what my parents had done to me. God help me if he ever did. Just the mere thought of him right then was enough to make my stomach ache, but if he discovered about my wounds and the past week… I didn't want to face his rage towards my parents or me. His utter fury towards the fact I gave in to my pain and weakness. And his hatred for my dad climbing almost catastrophic levels. It couldn't happen.

I wouldn't let it happen… would I?

Could I, the seemingly great Danny Phantom, stop one man and his potential tirade on—

I forced myself to breathe.

He wouldn't find out. He couldn't find out.

"Danny?"

I almost jumped from the steps, looking above me and seeing my sister giving me a worried look from above. I sighed wearily, standing up unsteadily and looking at her as she held out a hand for me to grab. I took it and was pulled up the stairs now, blinking unsteadily and attempting to focus on her. "Jazz—w-where are Mom and Dad?"

"Out. They needed some time alone to discuss their feelings or something." I don't think I had ever seen someone so worried and bitter at the same time. "And you need your bandages changed. Let's go."

I didn't have any say in the matter, and I knew it. Biting my lip, I followed Jazz inside and kept a shifty look out for anything I thought was suspicious. I didn't know who to trust anymore these days. This wasn't saying much, given I hardly trusted anyone but Sam and Tucker and Jazz as it was. But still… "Yeah. Okay."

She almost looked surprised, but she kept her face carefully blank at this. I wasn't surprised. "…where did you go?"

"Out." It was a truthful lie.

"Bullshit." She was walking towards the bathroom now, making sure I was reluctantly trotting after her. "You went to Sam and Tucker's and you explained everything that happened that night. Well, as much as you could remember. And then you came home because your wounds were starting to bother you." She turned to me, shaking her head. I must've looked like she dropped a bomb of being _pregnant_ or something. "Don't look so surprised. It's obvious."

I rubbed my head, slowly taking off my shirt and ignoring her cringes. "…am I that predictable?"

Jazz shook her head, reaching out to touch the cloth and cringing again. "It's a natural reaction to…"

Her voice faded out as she continued talking, though my mind began to drift away from the subject and her words. Not like I really had a habit of drifting in and out of conversations—but I really just wanted to not think about the whole thing. I didn't want to think about _anything_ right then, to be honest.

I knew that I would never be okay again in my life. I'd never be okay _with_ my life because I understood that my parents knew about my identity. They knew I was Phantom, and if they ever saw me go out into the city again as my ghost side… it would probably pain them and send them into a tizzy or whatever. God, I didn't even know my own _parents_ anymore. I didn't know what they would think about anything.

_"Yes, it is…" I muttered, staring off to the side. Jazz tensed next to me, but I ignored her. "It's my fault. If it weren't for this stupid, disgusting secret—"_

_"You should have told us."_

_The accusation in my mother's voice slammed into my stomach like a dagger. For a moment I was taken aback, not knowing how to respond. "I… I know…"_

_"You lied to us…"_

_"Maddie."_

…_**This is **_**not **_**happening**__,_ _my mind whispered. This was it. Everything I'd tried to deny in the past was suddenly happening. Swallowing hard, I gazed down at my feet and flinched, waiting for the rejection and the anger from my parents that was sure to come. I couldn't stop the fresh wave of painful, raw guilt from welling up, almost threatening to pull me apart again. "I-I just—"_

**"**_**Why?**_**"**

Damn it all. My parents were scared of me. And they were never scared of ghosts.

Until now.

"…are you even listening to me?"

I snapped out of my thoughts again and looked at Jazz, who was clearly exasperated that I pretty much hadn't heard a lick of what she said. "Not really."

"You're impossible sometimes," she muttered, pulling out the medical tape and bandages and shaking her head. She placed the end strip near the end of the scars by my stomach and taped it there gently, beginning to wrap it around my torso and shaking her head. "Danny, seriously. You can't just shut people out like this. It's—"

"I… really don't want to hear it right now, Jazz. Please." My voice was almost quiet, pleading. "Just—shut up about it."

My sister watched me for a long moment as I quietly looked down at my partially-wrapped body. "Look. I know I'm not going to feel okay for the rest of my life. Mom and Dad are terrified of me, Sam and Tucker are in this state of utter shock, and you're fussing around because you think it's your fault. And it's not—it's my fault I got these powers in the first place." I glanced up at her, unblinking. "My fault I'm a freak."

She didn't say anything, continuing to wrap my body a little more and sighing softly under her breath. Irritation was evident. "It's not—"

"It _is,_ okay?" I snapped harshly, shaking and turning to her in the middle of a loop around me. "I messed with that damn portal! I'm lucky I came out _half alive!"_

We didn't talk the rest of the time she finished bandaging me. It was a rather nasty silence. When she finished, I knew that I was losing not only my parents, but her too.

My whole life was falling apart right before my eyes.

* * *

**This took too long to write. Like, maybe two or three days and LOADS of distractions. I had to change songs in my iTunes, watch YouTube videos, show snippets to my comrades, role play… I could go on and on and on about the whole process of the thing, but I won't. I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter, and remember- **_**it's a spin-off.**_** Not a sequel. This is what I believed would happen. Not what actually DID.**

**Have a good night, guys. I'm off to do crossover love.**


	3. Part III: Nightmare

**I'm really sorry this didn't come out last week. I blame the overtime that I gathered from working for an extra day and everything. 46 hours. At least I get a pretty nice paycheck this week. And you all get a new chapter. Be warned: this is going to get pretty dark PRETTY fast. And I'm sorry for the coming in action overload. Brain processing is currently down to nothing. I blame 4****th**** of July and fireworks.**

**Thanks so much for the reviews** .x, Blue Wolf Moon, xXxMartelxXx, Donteatacowman, Pii, TheLonelyApparition, Hottiegally, Nano Phantom, Ecokitty, dragondancer123, Starriieyed, Dp, JuneLuxray, Anneria is too lazy to log in, Cloudcrossing

* * *

Part III: Nightmare

"…_dude, you don't look so great."_

I don't think I've ever wanted to snap a retort back at someone like I did right then at Tucker on the other end of the Skype. My eyes flashed briefly for a moment before I looked back at the closed door and slowly turned my face towards the computer monitor again. Tucker's troubled look almost made me cringe, but I kept a forced calm in my voice. "I don't _feel_ great. Had to change the bandages with Jazz's help."

He blinked and tilted his head at this, adjusting his glasses on the other side of the monitor and folding his arms. "_How's it going between you two right now? I mean she is your pillar of support. Is she hanging around with you a lot?"_

"Don't want to talk about it," I muttered.

Tucker didn't say anything more about it. I stared back at him through the webcam and waited for him to say something else. _Anything _else other than something about family and everything that I _didn't_ want to think about. He looked down for a long moment before finally rubbing the back of his neck and cringing. "_…sooo you heard about the rumors of Phantom?"_

Oh. Great.

"Do I want to, Tucker?"

He shrugged a little on the other end, looking more uncomfortable than he already appeared. His body shifted back a bit more, wheeling on the chair and giving a nervous laugh. "_They're saying, uh, he's kinda went missing. Stopped being a hero for a bit. Just—stuff. I mean, y'know Vlad's been emphasizing on it a bit."_ He almost ducked a little, as if trying to avoid being hit by someone Dash's size. "_A bit more than he should."_

I twitched, taking a deep breath and attempting to not clench up. It hurt enough as it was right then to be staring at the screen and seeing the pained look on Tucker's face as he was telling me this. But now I knew that _Vlad_ was spreading media bullcrap about me, and that just—my calm center was about ready to burst into nothing. "What's a bit more?" I ground out.

"_If I told you, you wouldn't have a computer anymore."_

Clearly, this wasn't what I wanted to hear, and I just leaned back slowly and closed my eyes. I needed to breathe. Right now. If Tucker thought they were bad, then it must have been really frickin' awful. There was a long silence after this, pain rushing through my chest and the rest of my body. I don't know why there was right then; all I know is that I was in a lot of pain. It wasn't the bandages for sure. It was just physical hurt.

A loud beeping ring interrupted me out of my pain, and I blinked to focus on the screen before smiling weakly. Tucker tilted his head, and before he could object, I clicked 'answer.' "Hey Sam."

"…_is this a three-way?"_

Tucked sounded pouty. "_Aww, you don't want to talk to me?"_

Sam sounded less than impressed. "_This is serious, Tucker."_

"Guys, I'm right here," I interrupted wearily, leaning over slowly and placing my elbows on the table before rubbing my head. "Sam, what's up?"

She sighed softly before speaking again. "_It's Vlad."_

She didn't have to say anything else. My mind blurred with rage and confusion. Slowly I stood up and clicked out of the conversation with the two. There was no goodbye, no "_I'll talk to you two later."_ Nothing formal about it- just clicked out and closed everything I could so they couldn't get into contact with me. I wasn't in the mood for anything right now, and I could _tell_ he was probably out there about to wreck some havoc or crap.

The moment those rings split over me a few moments later, and my body was changing right along with it. Those wounds my parents had inflicted on my ghost side when they were cutting into me—they were still there. Normally, my body would've healed up by now, but not this time. The wounds were so deep, and the blood was still so fresh… it was hard to believe I wasn't on an operating table right then. The hazmat suit covered my bandages, almost to a point of it pushing on my chest. It was going to be hard to breathe.

Hard to confront him.

* * *

It screamed bad weather outside as I flew slowly towards the city, looking at the overcast skies and holding my chest slightly. I had no clue where the hell Plasmius was, and I honestly hoped I didn't have to run into him today. Maybe Sam had seen him and he had disappeared or something. It was a slim chance of this, but there was always that little piece of hope that I kept a hold on right now. '_Please… no Vlad… no Vlad…'_

Something barely nicked my shoulder, but it was enough for me to jump in midflight and whirl around. Ignoring the roaring soreness in my chest, I looked up and swallowed, seeing the one and only Vlad Plasmius staring down at me with that nasty grin on his face. It had been a long few weeks since I had even _seen_ the damn fruit loop, and I had wanted it to be a couple more. But beggars can't be choosers.

"Daniel. Long time no see."

"Plasmius. Still as crazy as ever. Remembered to feed your cat?" I quipped, trying to grin.

He raised an eyebrow at this as I slowly landed on the concrete and tried to keep a calm face. His hand was glowing a bright pink still, aimed right for me as I continued to keep my eyes locked with his. I didn't want this. Not now. My legs were about to give out under me for god's sake, and he was standing right there just—grinning. It was actually kind of creepy. I tried to ignore it over the throbbing now of my upper torso, but it was hard. _Really _hard.

After a long moment… "Well now. Are you going to attempt to be a hero once again?"

Attempt. Funny.

"Damn right I am."

Plasmius immediately flew forward, throwing ghost rays at lightning speeds, and I was stumbling back in response. There was no time for a ghost shield to protect me. I had to move, pronto. Without saying anything more, I turned my back and began to run. My nails were digging into my gloves, and the cloth grinded into my palms, but I didn't care. I just wanted to get out of there right then.

"You won't play the hero running, Daniel!" I heard Plasmius yell mockingly as I ducked into the park and leaned against a tree. "Last I checked, you were supposed to be coming _for_ me, not _away_ from me!"

He was toying with me, and I understood that I couldn't face him. My chest screamed for release from the spandex holding around the bandages and the wounds, but I pushed the gnawing request out of my mind once more. I offered no response to this, closing my eyes and shaking slightly. It hurt to be helpless, to know that I could do jack-shit in my position. My hands glowed a weak green in response to his last comment, and I glanced around the corner. '_Say. Nothing,'_ I thought.

There was a loud rustling, and I slowly aimed a hand around the corner. Nothing.

A mass of two-hundred-fifty pounds slammed into my side, knocking me a good twenty feet from my original position. My body smacked the dirt repeatedly, a couple of those times being my chest. The sound of feet landing in the dirt was heard moments later, but I didn't bother to see where he had gone.

I rolled over, clutching my chest and feeling the agony surge again. I couldn't take it anymore, slowly standing up and looking around. He was nowhere to be seen.

"Come out, you coward!" I yelled hoarsely. "That was a _cheap shot,_ Plasmius!"

"Oh? What do you call _your_ hiding, Daniel?"

I froze, hearing a whisper behind me and a hand shoving me down into the dirt once again. I didn't want to stand back up this time. I just wanted to lie there and die right then, but Plasmius's gloved hand roughly grabbed my hair and pulled me to my feet. He must have been sneering at me.

I couldn't take it any longer.

Without warning, my hands gripped my outfit and pulled as hard as they possibly could in an effort to rip my outfit. They glowed fiercely, struggling to tear the material until I finally heard a loud _RIIIIIP_ in my suit. The top half of my entire outfit came off entirely, my screams piercing the park's silence and alerting anyone and everyone of the torture my body felt. The "DP" emblem fluttered to the grass, and I felt Plasmius's hand release the grip on my head.

I looked down at my chest. The bandages had been ripped off clean now, blood seeping down my chest and on to the grass. I felt absolutely sick looking at it. Those scars were still fresh. _Still._ I didn't know how that was possible. I had to look somewhere else, so I did the next best thing my numbed mind could think of.

My head slowly turned around to glance and see if Plasmius was gone.

He wasn't. And his voice made me freeze completely.

"Daniel. …what the hell happened to you?"

"…"

"_What. The hell. Happened to you?"_ he hissed dangerously.

* * *

…**oh lord. Oh. Lord. I have no words to say but—you girls better be lucky. A shirtless Danny with lots of scars and some blood. Try processing that for a while **_**after**_** you process this chapter. I will now proceed to go and sleep, for it is 5:20 AM and I am almost completely out of caffeine in my system. The next chapter will be out next week—which is soon enough for this tired and inspired cookie. Peace out.**


	4. Part IV: Surreal

**I think this counts for something. I've been going through a lot of crud again these days, such as extension woes, family woes, work woes, friend woes… Pretty much everything under the sun is deciding to hit me right now, and it's not being nice to me. So here I go in a valiant effort to keep this fan fiction alive and hopefully make it as good as **Lab Rat. **WHICH, by the way- she's working on a bit of a sequel. So yes, everyone. Don't worry. Hers will be the real deal. Although this spin-off doesn't really hurt much either.**

**Thanks so much for all your reviews** Pii, aryaneragon4ever, Nano Phantom, Cloudcrossing, TwiLyght Sans Sparkles, Shay Durrow, x. PsychoticNari. xjust woke up, JuneLuxray, Call me Mad, TuffChick, Ecokitty, GallifreyanGhostGirl, dragondancer123, Anneria is once again lazy, Wolflover77, xXxMartelxXx, The Flying Taco, The Cat's Meow

* * *

Part IV: Surreal

There is nothing more terrifying than your archenemy staring at you from behind when you've ripped off the top part of your outfit because of the pressure and pain of everything in between. Especially when you turn your head and he has no idea what's gotten into you—and you can't say you blame him. He wouldn't know because he probably didn't spy on me the _one_ time in my life where I was in deep trouble with my parents. Figures.

"_What. The hell. Happened to you?"_

Part of me wanted to snap at him and spill it in a straight form. Another part of me wanted to baby it to him, and yet another part felt like being a jerk and totally making him find out for himself. I was so angry and pained, though, that I didn't consider any of these options. I stood there, attempting to take a deep breath and grinding my teeth. "…guess, fruit loop," I tried to joke weakly, standing there and staring at the cloth floating to the ground. "Just guess."

There was a hand that grabbed my shoulder, the pressure making me almost grimace and flash back to that week before. My hand glowed brightly, almost instinctively reaching up to tear it off. Those gloves dug into the skin, though, and it felt like he was trying to rip me open. Literally _rip me open_… like my parents…

My parents…

Shaking now, I took Plasmius's hand and squeezed, my eyes closing finally and trying to slowly get him to let go. "Stop it."

"Show me what happened," he growled.

I couldn't just _show_ him. He had to come and look for himself. It—

His hand gripped tighter, slowly pushing me to turn around and stare him down. My feet moved just slightly, my torso moving with his nudges. Swallowing hard, I could feel the fierceness from my gaze and presence begin to drop like a rock. The façade was slipping away, revealing the true raw fear of a man who had been tortured like no one would ever experience in his or her lifetime. It took only moments, but all the same, it felt like an eternity. Slower and slower it got before I was finally at full face and watching a man who had been my hated enemy for some time.

Plasmius didn't seem to move, staring at me for a long while before finally letting go of my arm and studying my upper torso. Again, the wave of foreboding hit me, and I unconsciously reached for my upper body. My fingers traced the scar's outside area, my eyes falling down to where my parents had cut into my skin. Shivering, I could feel something touching my shoulder again, but I didn't look to see who it was.

It had to have been my parents… right?

The wicked silence continued for what seemed like an eternity before Plasmius spoke again. It almost sounded strained. "…Daniel."

Never had I felt such a wicked wind blow in my direction, and I could see the rage in his features growing at an alarming right. I stopped fidgeting and shook my head a little, trying to keep a strong voice and failing rather spectacularly. My hand visibly shook as I clenched it and tried to speak, but as I opened my mouth, he was two inches in front of my face. "Explain," he whispered.

Before I could stop myself… "Parents."

"Excuse me?"

By now, I was shaking and feeling tears threaten to overcome me. I was _not_ going to cry in front of this fruit loop. There was not a chance in _Hell_ I was going to spill this all to— "Mom. Dad. Got me."

'_Shut up, shut up, shut up…'_

His eyes narrowed more, now to mere slits as a hand glowed gently at first. It was now becoming brighter, more lethal. "Go on."

'_SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP…'_

"Dissected me… on a table… didn't believe me," I muttered, looking at the green blood oozing out. It was much more silky, not as clumpy as human blood. Tears were beginning to stream down my face—angry, hateful ones towards the world. I hated everything about my situation. No one understood me. They never would. "Sedatives and morphing… called me a freak…"

Plasmius's frame was shaking. I didn't even have to look at him to feel the wrath vibrating off him.

'_**SHUT UP. SHUT. UP.'**_

"Found out 'bout me," I managed bitterly, shaking my head with hands glowing now as well. They could have rivaled Plasmius's magenta easily, and I think he noticed. I didn't care, though. "Know I'm Phantom. Tried to stop 'em… couldn't. Hate me—both of them. Know it." My eyes squeezed shut, shaking again. "I… I hate them… I hate them _so much_!"

There. I had said it.

I hated my parents. There was no other way to put it.

There was a long silence after this outburst, my body still shaking a little. My eyes were trained on Plasmius, who turned around and didn't seem to acknowledge me for quite some time. Silently, I was hoping he'd just leave me alone in all my pain and I could just get away from everything. From everyone. But I couldn't

"I am going. To destroy them."

I said nothing in return and continued to stare at what was now the back of his head. He wouldn't kill them. No way.

"You can't," I managed to choke out.

He looked at me over his shoulder, his voice dark. "Watch."

"You _won't._"

He turned back around to face me, a fire in his eyes I had never seen before. He took a step towards me. Chest-to-chest now, Plasmius towered over me with a rather eerie grin on his face. One eye twitched slightly, and my stomach plummeted. "I will," he snarled quietly.

'_He's a liar.'_

"N-no… you won't."

"I am _not_ going to sit around and let that _bastard_ of a man you call a _father_ get away with cutting open my enemy!" he roared, suddenly grabbing me by the throat and staring at me. "If anyone is going to bloody _cut you open,_ it is going to be _me! _Only _**ME!"**_ His grip tightened more, the fire growing more out of control. "He is _mine,_ Daniel! And I am going to _murder him __**with my own two hands!"**_

I couldn't breathe. I tried to grab his wrists, but nothing doing. "S-Stop…!"

"Don't you _understand?"_ He was almost screaming now. "Now I am forced to clean up your mess, Daniel! _ I AM FORCED TO DO WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE TWO YEARS AGO!"_

With this, he finally released me and stared at my shaking frame before turning around and shaking himself. "They're mine. _Both of them…"_ he growled viciously before leaping up towards the skies and flying off.

Off to my house, most likely.

My attempts to breathe were interfering with the amount of petrified fear that seemed to utterly control my movement. My knees sank to the dirt, my body having no ability to stand up and take off after him. My hand went right to my throat, feeling where the glove had grabbed and wincing immediately. Plasmius had a strong grip, and right now… I was just honestly glad he didn't snap my neck. I wasn't happy at all that he was off in the direction of my parent's house, though.

Was I?

My thoughts jumbled together now, attempting to make sense as I sat there and felt my body throb with pain. My mind was numb of anything except for the words he had just screamed at me. Killing my parents… me suddenly yelling that I hated them so much…

Did I hate them? Did I really, truly hate them for what they did to me?

I—

I couldn't answer it for myself. Slowly, I leaned forward and pushed myself off the ground, looking around. No one was in the park. In fact, no one was out on the street or anything. It was eerie quiet, and I was officially freaking out more and more inside than I have been in a _while _about being alone. I was still Phantom, by some miracle of Clockwork or God, and I was walking down the street without a shirt on and scars blazed out for the world to see.

But I didn't consider anything other than one question.

Did I really hate them? Want them dead?

Why did I scream that for the world to hear?

…why was I worried that these next thirty minutes of my life were going to be the ones that forced me to choose my destiny or some bull like that?

Why did I feel like Plasmius was going to murder them?

* * *

**Oh gee, sense of foreboding and pain and angst and death and—*shot***

**So I showed quite a bit of this to Anneria, and I think she freaked the hell out. She was scared of my Vlad. Which is good. Really good. I was aiming for that. I hope you all enjoyed this new, UBER DARK installment as much as the next person. And I'll see you next week for Part V: Atonement. *evil grin***

**Composed to "Now We Are Free" by Lisa Gerrard and "The Outsiders" by A Perfect Circle.**


	5. Part V: Destiny

**You wouldn't believe how long this took. Too long. Months. I'm so sorry, everyone. I moved, I got my old job back, I'm applying for Disney again, I had bad days, I had good days, I had days off, I had moments of despair, angst, depression… I had breakdowns and everything under the damn sun you could possibly think about. And for that, I'm so horribly sorry this chapter took so long. I finally just got sick of it and winged the rest of it. That's why it's so short. *looks sour* Sorry again.**

**Quick warning: It's gonna get bloody at the end…**

**Thanks so much for all your kind reviews **JuneLuxray, AnneriaWings, PsychoticNari, dragondancer123, pii is too lazy to login lol xD, hawkflyer667, TwiLyght Sans Sparkles, Call me Mad AKA Ninja Fish, DP, MaxRide101, xXxMartelxXx, Nano Phantom, TexasDreamer101, spiritmind76, Phantasmatis Rubramentum, of ice and ash, Raionne, Cloudcrossing, The Flying Taco

* * *

Part V: Destiny

Hours. Minutes. I couldn't keep track, dragging myself into the air and flying forward a couple of feet down the street. My house had to have been a good four more blocks away from where I was at the park an hour ago… or was it? My mind was so scrambled from Vlad's threat that I just knew that I had to make it home. Or he was going to kill my parents and possibly put the blame over my head. One way or another, I was practically screwed over by the fruit loop once again.

My body was too heavy, too drained to fly anywhere. I sank to the concrete, forcing myself to stay as upright as possible. And even this was proving to be a terrible challenge. The lack of sleep and lack of energy that I had now was finally taking its toll on me, and it was obvious. I forced myself to lean against the building, feeling my body change and the rings split down my body again. Night was beginning to fall, and thunder was heard in the distance. Another storm?

My eyes closed, feeling the water slowly begin to beat on my open wounds. Kind of like how Vlad liked to go and open up my emotional wounds. That jerk…

Then again.

I had never seen Vlad so angry in my life, and that was saying an awful lot. I thought it was the look of death after Danielle and I had destroyed his life's work, but that didn't even compare to the purest of fury I felt radiating off his body today. And the frightening thing was that I knew it wasn't aimed at me—but at my parents. My dad, who he hated. My mom, whom he lusted and cared about. I bit my lip, shivering in the dark showers and clenching my fists. I didn't know if- how- who…

Who the hell should I side with? The crazy lunatic who once tried to make me his son or the ones who bore me and cut me open to see who I really was?

My mind was going to split open from the thought. My hands went to my head, groping for some sort of answer as if I was searching through a library. What to pick. What to want. What to have.

Whatever I chose, I knew it would pretty much decide my future.

_DAMN IT._

I sat up suddenly, my hand flaring with emerald energy and shooting a wicked ghost ray out into the open in a fit of rage. My chest hurt, but I couldn't help the wail I let loose towards the park. I stopped for a moment, standing up before screaming again. The trees were blown back, leaves ripped off the branches and branches breaking off from the tree itself. The attack took all but thirty seconds, but it was enough to get me fired up in my hatred for my life situation.

I don't care if you think I was being a kid for doing that.

I had been _cut the hell open_ by my goddamn parents.

My hands were visibly shaking as I finally turned towards the direction of the apartment, and before I could understand what was going on, I was running there. There was nothing I could feel other than this burning hatred for everyone I ever knew, ever trusted. To my parents, to my best friends, to my enemies… I just wanted to be understood, for someone to try and give a shit. To make me understand. I couldn't just—

That was when I heard it. A scream.

From my house.

I threw a hand forward, ghost energy gathering and shooting forward to blast the door right off its hinges. The sight before me made me suddenly freeze in my tracks.

The living room was ransacked. Completely destroyed with everything out of place. The sofa had holes in it, rips and tears. Magazine shreds were everywhere, and burns in the wall made it clear that someone attacked the place. I didn't try to discern who had done what, but it was pretty damn obvious a fight had broken out. I stumbled in, anger and confusion now mixing together. Who shot who? Why did I see blood?

Blood…

There was a shattering of glass down in the lab, and I couldn't stop myself from running down the stairs and seeing—

…

No way…

Mom's body was on the floor in a heap, with a puddle of blood under her frame. Dad was struggling to stand, bleeding freely from his arm. And there was Plasmius in all his furious and frightening glory, his hands alight with magenta energy. His voice was guttural, not moving from his position and glowering at my dad. "What's wrong, _Jack?"_

Dad looked at Mom's body, which twitched unconsciously. The room was covered in blood spatters of green and red alike, and the glasses on the table with the vials of my DNA and blood- the thought made me want to puke- had been shattered. Shards of glass were everywhere, and equipment had been strewn all over the place. I thought for a moment that they might have had a chance, but I erased the thought from my mind.

Not against a psychotic Vlad Plasmius they wouldn't.

"At last, he finally arrives."

I looked over at Plasmius, swllowing hard and narrowing my eyes. Mom lifted her head, shaking and raising a hand out as if she wanted me to grab it and help her up off the ground. Dad gave me a weak grin and nodded, trying to stand up and placing one hand on his knee to prop himself up. He was in really bad shape- Vlad must've broken his arm in two and given him a couple broken teeth. I almost couldn't look at him. But yet—I had to.

Those eyes were pleading with me to help him against the ghost. Against his enemy. His old college classmate. He wanted _me_ of all people to help him.

My feet were glued to the floor. I didn't budge.

"Look at what your parents have done. They've tried to save the _very thing_ they swore they would dissect," Plasmius sneered. "And it looks like they have failed _miserably."_ There was a gleam in his eyes. "Say the word, Daniel. Say it, and your pain and suffering… all the anguish… I can make it all go away."

Images of my life as a half-ghost were flashing before my eyes. Danielle… Sam and Tucker and all their help… Mom and Dad and hiding everything… Jazz and her concern for my well-being… my encounters with Plasmius, though few and far between…

Mom stirred again only just. I could feel my body shaking hard now, and I knew I couldn't concentrate any energy to get him away from Dad. Or did I want—

Plasmius stared at me, aiming the hand slowly at Dad now. "Choose, Daniel."

Those eyes- they were begging for mercy. Or to be killed. My throat choked.

But then…

"D-Danny…"

Mom's voice rattled out softly. I almost couldn't hear it. "Please… Danny, h-help us… p-please…"

Dad grinned weakly. "S-Son, c-come on. Y-You wanna h-help—right?"

There wasn't an ounce of sympathy in their voices. They wanted help so they could—so they could…

I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking my head slowly. Tears leaked out of my eyes, my voice cracked. "I can't."

The temperature in the room dropped like a rock.

"I can't help. I just—" Shaking my head again, the tears leaked more, now streaming down my face. I wanted them to stop.

_My eyes were still glued shut. I thought I heard a gasp or two, the voices halted in stunned silence. Warmth and life pulsed in synch with the pain that increased tenfold. My voice curling into a weak, rasping moan, I tried to twist myself to the side – slipping in a pool of my own icy ectoplasm and what was now undoubtedly red, warm blood. Its coppery smell assaulted my nostrils, throwing everything out of order again._

_My wheezy cries slowly fell silent. Just lying there, panting, I heard a ringing clatter of what were probably tools dropping to the floor._

_"…__**Danny**__?" somebody whispered._

Plasmius seemed to understand. He moved closer to my dad. I heard him.

He shook his head. His own voice was strained. "Son— I-I'm so sorry."

I opened my eyes, looking at him. They flickered to red for but a blink. No one noticed. "No you're not," I muttered. "N-not yet."

In that instance, there was another splatter of red on the floor and a hand sticking right through his chest. A gloved hand, glowing brightly. The sound of liquid hitting steel. Dad looked down and back up slowly, like some sort of slow-motion movie moment.

My guilt and hate screamed louder than the Ghostly Wail could have ever achieved.

* * *

…**right. Uhm. Yes.**

**HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, ECOKITTY. ;3; I'M SORRY THIS WAS LATE. I'M A BAD KITTY.**

**Excuse me, I'm going to go and die in a corner for that. Oooooooops. I love you all. I really do. But the parents? Bah. No way. What made you think I did?**


	6. Part VI: Pain

**So this is what it all comes down to. One final chapter. *****looks tired***** I honestly cannot believe it myself. It started almost three and a half months ago, and now, on October 1****st**** in Central Daylight Standard time, I have finally completed a **Danny Phantom** fan fiction for the first time in many months. My first centric one in too long—to much love, approval, and threats for updates. But enough of this for now.**

**For now, my thanks for these reviews:** AnneriaWings, NeverEnough15, Invader Zhyr, Call me Mad AKA Ninja Fish, JackieDanielStark, Echoheart, Nadis Aten, aryaneragon4ever, spiritmind675, TacoBell Obsessed, TwiLyght Sans Sparkles, Nano Phantom, PsychoticNari, Cloudcrossing, dragondancer123, Sabsi13, Fluffy things r cute, Ecokitty, Midnayuki, Samantha Seldowitz

* * *

Part VI: Pain

"He's gone, Daniel…"

But the only question was- did I really want that? Or was it simply a moment of weakness that made me crumble into nothing short of a coward? Seeing my dad on the floor like that was enough to make me want to do nothing short of die right then. To know they had stood up to _his_ rage for as long as they did—something in me just jerked to reality. Like all my anger and hate for them had evaporated in a single hand through the chest. My body couldn't cooperate with my mind.

Happy or sad?

I opened my mouth to try and say something. Nothing doing. As if frozen in time, I could only stand there and stare at the blood. There was so much gone—it was like looking at my own dissection all over again. Part of me wanted to vomit, but again, I just… couldn't. Mom was still on the floor, but her movement was now minimum. Plasmius was stalking over to her, and my mind was screaming for me to stop him. The more I thought, the more fuzz came into play. _'Save her… you should save her and not your father.'_

Plasmius glanced at me for a split moment before walking over to Mom's limp body. He kneeled next to her and grabbed her neck, lifting her high into the air and chuckling darkly. "So this is how it all ends, Madeline. You have destroyed the trust of the one thing you thought you could 'save.'" He snorted, eyes flashing again as he slammed her up into a wall. She wasn't even fighting back, the light dim in her eyes. "And to think I once loved you… I wanted you, _needed_ you. Craved for your touch, my dear." The fingers gripped her throat tighter, voice getting harsher. "Never again…"

I couldn't just…

"If you tried to murder your son—_my _son with your own hands for your selfish desires to experiment on him…"

My stomach churned. The haze finally cleared up slightly, leaving nothing but a screaming realization finally in my mind.

'_You should have told them. Then none of this would have happened.'_

"Y-you're no different."

Plasmius slowly turned around, gripping Mom's throat still. I must have looked pitiful standing there, giving this listless gaze at my dad and looking back at Vlad. Pain was searing through my body, and it just couldn't stop. It wouldn't stop. My hand felt my chest, felt the scar forming on my body. They were glowing now, a soft sort of bluish-green. "Y-you're not different from Mom and Dad… you twisted—"

They loved me. They wanted to protect me. I just couldn't see it. I was blind with hate, rage, despair, disappointment. Everything. I felt sick. I just wanted to _die_ right then. Not because Mom and Dad found out while dissecting me, but because—because they cared. They loved me. And I turned it down in a fit of rage.

God. Why me? Why. Me.

"…you finish that sentence, boy, and I will make you wish _you_ were in my grasp and not your pathetic mother," Plasmius whispered, dropping Mom to the floor and turning to me. He still had that murderous look in his eyes, but I actually didn't back down. I didn't budge, staring back at him and shaking my head. He took a step forward. I still didn't move.

"…you twisted _bastard,"_ I muttered.

I am pretty sure I don't think I have heard a more terrible roar than the one my enemy howled out. I turned invisible then, immediately avoiding what would have been a death throttle by the hands of my dad's murderer. He didn't hear anything as I swooped in to see Mom, to make sure she still had a pulse.

Amazingly, she did. I don't know how, but…

Unfortunately, Vlad saw me in this instance, and he roared again, hands outstretched. Eyes narrowed, I scooped up Mom's body and immediately did a one-eighty to avoid him once again. It was a close call—Plasmius went straight through the wall, and it gave me a _very_ quick moment to grab my dad's body and scoop him up. My mind was no longer focused on the pain, but rather to simply get their bodies to safety. That was upstairs. '_Get them out of here… gotta save Mom… help Dad… he's dead, idiot…'_

I grunted, heaving their bodies through the roof of the lab and setting them down finally. Mom still wasn't moving, but I didn't have time to worry about that now.

Plasmius.

I slipped through the floor now and landed there, looking down at my reflection in the pool of blood. My bile rose in my throat, covering my mouth for a moment before becoming intangible again right as Plasmius was about to tackle me. My voice was shaky. I couldn't help it. "S-Stop."

Plasmius snarled, shaking his head.

"You're worse than them," I told him softly, gazing at his furious eyes and biting my lip. "I'm no better than them. I finally know what they wanted to do, and I couldn't—" My voice choked. "I couldn't tell them. I was a damn coward, and I couldn't just…" My fists clenched now, body tightening for an attack from the fruit loop. "I couldn't do it. It's my fault."

"You need to be studied. To become perfection. To become _mine."_ Plasmius's hand burned, as did his eyes. "I will be the first to study you _completely._ Your parents have done nothing to this extent, and I will surpass them in this."

It was becoming harder and harder to hold myself together. Oh god… god, what the hell had I done? What had I been— what the hell had I been thinking? I'd been pissed before all this had happened. Depressed that they had gotten me. Pained to think they could actually "fix" me and try to make things better. It made it all sound like they were veterinarians and I was a dog… I stared at my hand, biting my lip and watching it shake slightly. Was that blood I saw? Was I hallucinating?

I didn't even know anymore what was real. What wasn't.

Plasmius lunged, my body becoming intangible again and him sailing right through. There were no more words to be said. I turned to him, eyes bleak as a rainy day. I hadn't felt this terrible since the day I had woken up from that nightmare my parents had put me through. There wasn't much left to fight for. Dad was gone, Mom was barely there as it was in the upstairs… I slumped to my knees, staring at that red hand and shaking my head.

I thought it'd make him stop.

He got even more pissed.

"I'm not taking you if you just _surrender,_ Daniel," he sneered, firing a ghost ray and hitting me square in the chest. The wound burst open, blood splattering forth and my body flying into the steel wall. I screamed out in pain, agony, tears unexpectedly flowing down my face and mixing with my fresh blood. "Come on. Put up _some_ of a fight!" His voice was shrill, shooting another and hitting another bull's-eye. "_Get up!"_

By now, I was too blind in my pain to do anything more than simply scream. Nothing else was telling me to do anything more than just scream. Hands tried to feel my chest, only sensing liquid seeping through my fingers.

Screams. So many screams. Mine. Mom's… Dad's…

Wait.

Mom's screams… Dad's screams?

I couldn't just—

I don't know what happened next. I was too in pain to see my mother limping down and screeching at someone to get away from me…

* * *

Sheets. Towels. Cushions. Pillows.

Must've been in the living room.

Someone was holding me there for a long moment, and I couldn't see who it was. Words were coming out in shudders, shivers, whimpers—I didn't know what was going on. There were whispers, someone sitting next to me as I tried to move. My eyes were bleary, hurting as if I had just sobbed for hours at a time. My head moved to the side, looking over and seeing someone limping through the house.

A voice. "…critical condition."

"Is he—?"

"…hard to say."

My voice cracked. "M-M-Mom?"

Shuffling. "…oh my god, Danny…" Someone kneeled next to me, placing a soft hand on my face. Bandaged, but I could still feel fingers there. "You're alive…"

I could have said the same thing, but I didn't. "Dad?"

"H-He's… he's alive… somehow…"

My mind was blurry with questions. How the hell was Dad alive? Where was Vlad? What happened to everything, everyone? Sam, Tucker, Jazz…

"T-There's something else, Danny…" Jazz's voice faded in and out.

My eyes closed. So much pain. So many levels. So many different shades.

"You're dying. Blood loss, physical weakness and pain." Her voice was strained. "Any minute, any day—you could just _die_. We can't save you any more. We can't…" Jazz was sobbing softly now, hair shaking slightly. "I'm so sorry! We can't do anything for either side. We can't help you, save you… anything…"

My voice was eerily calm, but choked. "I know."

* * *

**Written to: too much crap I cannot remember. Mainly Resident Evil.**

**I am going. To get **_**shot**_** for this. Dammit, **Anneria** had a better ending than me, and this is all open-ended and begging and pleading on its knees for a blasted sequel. I couldn't keep it going before it got too sappy, but dear god almighty, don't shoot me for anything and everything please. I know what I'm doing. I've been going at this for almost four years. I DO HAVE PLANS, YOU KNOW.**

**But enough about me. Enough about this. I just wanna thanks people.**

**For your faves. Your reviews. Your alerts. Everything. 60 faves and 66 alerts? I'm in utter shock. I can't believe it. I don't know if it's because it's a spin-off or because I actually wrote something good, but—I'm sincerely very happy you all liked it. It's gotten me back in a Danny Phantom mood, and I have all of you to thank for that. So damn much. You have no idea… **

**For now, I must be off. Sleep calls. So does my PS2 and maybe some crossover bunnies and drabbles in the near future.**

**Reviews are enjoyed. I'll be _damned_ if I don't answer every not-anon. review this time. I promise.**

Anneria, **get ready. **_Lab Rat: TBA _**is coming… very soon.**

**Love always, Shining Zephyr**


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